Bun holding and thawing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of bun handling include a cassette with opposed side walls. The cassette includes a front wall, an open rear face opposite the front wall, and a floor between the opposed side walls. A cover extends between the opposed side walls above the floor. The cover is movable relative to the opposed side walls and the floor. A slot is defined through the floor from the open rear face in a direction towards the front wall.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/827,532, filed on Apr. 1, 2019, the content of whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is related to the field of food preparation. Morespecifically, the present disclosure is related to systems and methodsof handling baked goods for use in the assembly of sandwiches in a foodpreparation setting.

Many restaurant and food service settings, particularly quick servicerestaurants (QSR) use a combination of pre-prepared and on-demandprepared food components in order to assemble foods ordered bycustomers, for example, hamburgers or sandwiches within a customer'stime expectation. While one approach to order assembly would be tosequentially prepare each food item constituent on demand in the orderin which it is needed, customer food preparation time expectations inthe QSR setting are frequently not met with such an approach.

Additionally, as the number of menu options and accommodation ofcustomer special requests or customizations proliferate, there is a needfor management of a greater number and variety of food items andconstituents. Management of prepared food constituent inventory is morechallenging as the number of food constituents increases. Also, as orderassembly becomes more complicated, the assembly instructions are harderfor food preparation workers to remember and correctly follow. Thiscreates a greater learning curve for new or inexperienced workers or forthe introduction of new menu items.

Bread, rolls, or other baked goods commonly form the structure on orwithin which the substance of a sandwich or other food item is held.Sandwiches, including hamburgers, club sandwiches, open-facedsandwiches, and wrapped sandwiches are commonly prepared foods inrestaurants and kitchens. In the QSR, fast casual restaurant, orinstitutional kitchen setting, handling (and toasting, if necessary) ofthe baked good can take nearly half of the total time required toprepare the ordered sandwich. As a further challenge, if left exposed,baked goods can quickly become stale, prone to mold, or otherwisedegrade in flavor.

The increase in different baked good options further presents achallenge as a greater number of specialty baked goods which are lessfrequently used must be kept available. As baked goods can quickly beginto degrade when exposed to an uncontrolled environment, solutions thatcan handle multiple types of baked goods are needed.

Most often baked goods are prepared off-site and delivered to therestaurant for subsequent use. Baked goods are frequently shipped to therestaurant in sealed air-tight bags, or “pillow packs.” These pillowpacks may be filled with nitrogen or another gas that helps to preservethe baked goods while the air-tight seal is maintained. The baked goodsmay also be frozen to aid in the preservation of baked good qualityduring transport and delivery to the restaurant. Once at the restaurant,the pillow packs must be opened before the baked goods can be used andthe baked goods must be thawed. As noted above, if left exposed, bakedgoods can quickly begin to degrade.

There is a trend in restaurants and food service for increased menuoptions and for accommodation of further customer custom requests. Thisadds to the complexity of food item orders and foodservice workers areless able to rely on memorization of food item recipes to assemble theorder. Increased menu options and custom accommodations furthercontribute to slow the assembly of these food items.

Thus further solutions are needed for the handling and preparation ofbaked goods in a restaurant or foodservice setting, particularly in theholding and direction of baked goods into subsequent processing.

BRIEF DISCLOSURE

An example of a bun handling system includes a cassette with opposedside walls. The cassette includes a front wall, an open rear faceopposite the front wall, and a floor between the opposed side walls. Acover extends between the opposed side walls above the floor. The coveris movable relative to the opposed side walls and the floor. A slot isdefined through the floor from the open rear face in a direction towardsthe front wall.

In further examples of the bun handling system, the floor of thecassette further extends interior from the front wall, separating theslot from the front wall. The cassette further includes a plurality oflanes defined within the cassette between the opposed side walls. Eachof the lanes of the plurality are separated from an adjacent lane of theplurality by an intermediate wall. The cassette may include a pluralityof slots and each slot of the plurality of slots extends through thefloor from the open rear face in a direction towards the front wall andeach lane of the plurality of lanes includes a slot of the plurality ofslots. The cover may further include a plurality of ridges that extendoutwards from the cover. Each ridge of the plurality of ridges isvertically aligned with a slot of the plurality of slots. The cassettemay be a first cassette and the bun handling system may include a secondcassette. A plurality of ridges may extend from a cover of the secondcassette and are dimensioned to nest within corresponding slots of theplurality of slots of the first cassette when the first cassette isstacked upon the second cassette.

Additional examples of the bun handling system include a bun holdingcabinet that defines a compartment. The compartment of the bun holdingcabinet may be configured to removably receive the cassette. The bunhandling system may be configured to dispense a bun from a dispensepoint of the bun handling system to a toaster adjacent to thecompartment. The cassette may be movable within the compartment toorient the cassette relative to the dispense point. The bun holdingcabinet may include a first door into the compartment and configured toreceive the cassette filled with a plurality of buns therethrough. Thebun holding cabinet may include a second door into the compartment andconfigured for removal of the cassette after the buns are dispensed.

In further examples of the bun handling system, the bun holding cabinetmay include a conveyor arranged within the compartment. The conveyor maybe receivable within the slot to extend through the slot to engage a bunwithin the cassette. The cassette may include a plurality of lanesseparated from an adjacent lane of the plurality of lanes by anintermediate wall, and a plurality of slots including the slot, eachslot of the plurality of slots extends through the floor from the openrear face in a direction towards the front wall, each lane of theplurality of lanes having a slot of the plurality of slots. Theplurality of conveyors may be arranged within the compartment, each ofthe conveyors of the plurality of conveyors configured to be receivablewithin a slot of the plurality of slots. The plurality of conveyors mayextend through the plurality of slots to engage buns in each lane of thecassette. The plurality of conveyors may be received within theplurality of slots, the plurality of conveyors extend out of the openrear face of the cassette and are operable to move buns from each laneof the cassette out of the open rear face of the cassette. Thecompartment may include at least one shelf that extends interior thecompartment. When the cassette rests on the at least one shelf, theplurality of conveyors are positioned within the plurality of slots.

Additional examples of the bun handling system include a thawing rackwith a plurality of shelves. Each shelf of the thawing rack isconfigured to receive the cassette. The thawing rack further includes aplurality of back walls each oriented relative to one of the shelves ofthe plurality of shelves. When a cassette is received on a shelf of thepurality of shelves, the shelf covers the slot and the back wall coversthe open rear face. The shelves of the plurality of shelves may bespaced apart at a distance to accommodate at least two cassettes in avertical stack.

An example of a bun handling system includes a plurality of cassettes.Each cassette of the plurality includes opposed sidewalls, a front wall,an open rear face opposite the front wall, and a floor between theopposed side walls. A plurality of lanes are defined within the cassettebetween the opposed side walls, each of the lanes separated from anadjacent lane of the plurality of lanes by an intermediate wall, and aplurality of slots extend through the floor from the open rear face ofthe cassette in a direction towards the front wall and each lane of theplurality of lanes includes a slot of the plurality of slots. A coverextends between the opposed side walls above the floor. The cover ismovable relative to the opposed side walls and the floor. The coverincludes a plurality of ridges extending outward from the cover and eachridge of the plurality of ridges is vertically aligned with a slot ofthe plurality of slots. A bun holding cabinet includes a compartment.The compartment of the bun holding cabinet is configured to removablyreceive each cassette of the plurality of cassettes. The bun holdingcabinet includes a plurality of conveyors arranged within thecompartment. Each of the conveyors of the plurality of conveyors isconfigured to be receivable within a slot of the plurality of slots. Theplurality of conveyors extend through the plurality of slots to engagebuns in each lane of the cassette. The plurality of conveyors extend outof the open rear face of the cassette and are operable to move buns fromeach lane of the cassette out of the open rear face of the cassette.

The bun handling system may include a thawing rack with a plurality ofshelves, each shelf of the thawing rack configured to receive at leastone cassette of the plurality of cassettes, the thawing rack furthercomprising a plurality of back walls each oriented relative to one ofthe shelves of the plurality of shelves. When the cassette is receivedon a shelf of the plurality of shelves, the shelf covers the slot andthe back wall covers the open rear face.

A method of dispensing buns from a bun handling system includesreceiving a plurality of buns in each lane of each of the plurality ofcassettes. The plurality of cassettes are received within thecompartment of the bun holding cabinet. The plurality of conveyors arepositioned through the slots of a cassette of the plurality of cassettesto engage the plurality of buns within the cassette with the conveyors.At least one conveyor of the plurality of conveyors is advanced to movea bun out of the cassette to a dispense point of the bun holdingcabinet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a holdingcabinet of a baked goods handling system.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the baked goods handling system.

FIG. 3A is a schematic depiction of a cassette and a conveyor.

FIG. 3B depicts an example of a portion of a compartment of a holdingcabinet with a cassette and a conveyor.

FIG. 3C is a side view taken along line 3C-3C of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4A depicts a thawing rack without bun cassettes.

FIG. 4B depicts the thawing rack of FIG. 4A exemplarily loaded with buncassettes.

FIGS. 5A-5C depict an example of a bun cassette.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE

As provided herein exemplary embodiments of devices and systems forhandling and dispensing baked goods in a restaurant or food servicesetting. The systems and devices as disclosed herein can be exemplarilyused to handle a wide variety of baked goods, including but not limitedto buns, rolls, English muffins, croissants, bagels, muffins, flatbread,pitas, cakes, pastries, and so forth.

The present disclosure relates to the handling and processing of bakedgoods in a food preparation and/or restaurant setting. Applicant'scurrently pending U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0167040entitled “Baked Good Handling System”, No. 2019/0208964 entitled “BunHolding Cabinet”, and No. 2019/0208793 entitled “Bun Separation” allrelate to the handling and processing of baked goods and are each herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a holdingcabinet 12. The holding cabinet 12 includes a dispenser 14 that operateswith one or more dispenser actuators 46, for example, gates, conveyors,and/or pushers, that move buns held within the holding cabinet 12 to anext step in the baked good handling system. That next step in the bakedgood handling system may be a toaster, a sauce dispenser, packaging, oranother system as will be recognized by a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

A processor 24 is communicatively connected to an IOT communicationsystem 22 which facilitates communication with a kitchen managementsystem (KMS) 20 which operates to receive customer orders, track theprogression and delivery of customer orders, and coordinate thepreparation of customer orders between a plurality of devices within akitchen system. The KMS 20 may also track inventory and use of fooditems by the various systems within the kitchen. The processor 24receives the instructions regarding a bun required to assemble anordered sandwich. The processor 24 coordinates the operations andfunctions of the bun holding cabinet 12 and the dispenser 14 byproviding control signals and instructions to various components of thesystem and collecting data and information from the operation of thesystem to report back to the KMS through the IOT communication system22. As used herein, the term processor means any of a variety of knowncontrollers, microcontrollers, integrated circuits, and/or printedcircuit boards operable electronic to read and execute computer readablecode to produce instructions and control commands as described infurther detail herein. The processor 24 is further communicativelyconnected to a computer readable medium (CRM) 26, which is non-transientand stores computer readable code that is executable by the processor,and upon execution causes the processor to carry out the functions andoperations as described in further detail herein.

The processor 24 is further connected to at least one input device 28associated with the bun holding cabinet 12. The input device 28 mayexemplarily include, but is not limited to, a keyboard and/or atouchscreen interface. The input device 28 is operable by a foodserviceworker to perform a manual entry of a control or operation of the bunholding cabinet 12. These instructions received by the processor 24 fromthe input device 28 may be instead of or in addition to those receivedfrom the KMS 20. In an embodiment, the foodservice worker may use theinput device 28 to request a dispense of a particular bun for a specialorder sandwich to be prepared manually, or as a replacement for a bundamaged elsewhere during assembly of the sandwich. The foodserviceworker may have the option to input or control any of the parameters andfunctions as described herein.

The bun holding cabinet 12 includes a compartment 30 that defines anenclosed area within which a plurality of cassettes 32 of buns are held.The cassettes 32 will be described in further detail herein. Thecassettes 32 may be loaded into the compartment 30 through a door 34 inthe bun holding cabinet 12. In embodiments, the door 32 may open with avertical hinge, while in other embodiments, the door 32 may open with ahorizontal hinge. It will be recognized that in still furtherembodiments, the bun holding cabinet 12 may include a plurality of doorsrather than a single door into the compartment 30. In one suchembodiment, the cabinet 12 may be configured to hold a plurality ofcassettes 32 in a vertically stacked arrangement as depicted in FIG. 1,and a door 34 is provided for each cassette 32 row in the verticalstack. In another embodiment, at least one door may be used to loadcassettes 32 into the compartment, while at least one other door may beused to remove cassettes 32 from the compartment.

The processor 24 is communicatively connected to one or moreenvironmental control devices 36. The environmental control devices 36are operatively connected to the compartment 30 and may include atemperature control device 38 which may include a heating element and/ora refrigeration system depending upon the conditions for optimal holdingof the bun within the compartment 30. The environmental control devices36 may further include humidity control 40, which may include ahumidifier and/or a dehumidifier to add or remove moisture from thecompartment 30. The environmental control devices 36 may further includegas concentration control 42 which may include supplies of gasses, forexample, but not limited to, nitrogen or carbon dioxide that can beadded to the compartment 30 to preserve bun freshness and inhibitspoilage before the buns are dispensed. While not depicted in FIG. 2,each of these environmental control devices 36 include associatedsensors related to the environmental conditions to be controlled, thesemay include temperature sensors, humidity sensors, and gas compositionsensors located in or directed to the compartment 30.

The processor 24 is communicatively connected to at least one cabinetactuator 44. The cabinet actuator 44 exemplarily operates to move thecassettes 32 and/or buns 50 within the compartment 30 to control thetype and order in which buns 50 are removed from the compartment 30. Inexamples provided herein, the cabinet actuators 44 may operate to movethe cassettes 32 within the compartment 30. In examples provided herein,the cabinet actuators 44 may operate to move individual buns from withina cassette 32 to the dispenser 14. Further examples may operate to moveboth the cassettes 32 and the individual buns within cassettes 32. Asdescribed herein, the cabinet actuators 44 may include mechanicalelevators, lifts, pushers, or conveyors to position the cassettes 32within the compartment 30 and/or to move individual buns from thecassettes 32.

FIG. 2 depicts another example of a baked goods handling system 10within the scope of the present disclosure. The holding cabinet 12receives cassettes 32 of the baked goods (e.g. buns 50) through a door34A into the compartment 30. The compartment 30 provides a controlledenvironment in which the buns are held prior to dispense. The door 34Aexemplarily is horizontally hinged and located at the bottom of theholding cabinet 12. The cassettes 32 are loaded into the bottom of thecompartment 30 and are moved into a position for dispense by the cabinetactuators 44 located therein. This limits the portion of the compartment30 that is exposed or opened each time that a new cassette 32 is loadedinto the compartment 30. The compartment 30 may hold a plurality ofcassettes 32 therein. The cabinet actuators 44 move the cassettes 32 toa dispensing position. The cabinet actuators 44 may be a mechanicalelevator, lift, or conveyor that positions the trays 32 within thecompartment 30 of the holding cabinet 12. The buns 50 are dispensed fromthe cassette 32 in the dispensing position within the compartment 30,for example a position that is in alignment with the dispenser 14 and/ora door 54 that leads to the dispenser 14. The holding cabinet 12dispenses selected baked goods from these cassettes 32. The dispenser 14exemplarily includes a ramp 56 that directs a bun 50 by gravity feed toposition a bun 50 relative to the toaster 16.

In examples, the cassettes 32 are held within the compartment 30. Thecassettes 32 are movable and removable within the compartment 30 to loadbuns 50 into the compartment and to remove empty cassettes 32 from thecompartment 30 for refilling with buns 50. In such examples, once loadedinto the compartment 30, the cassettes 32 remain in a stationaryposition within the compartment 30. Cabinet actuators 44, as describedherein, engage buns 50 within the cassettes 32 to selectively move buns50 from the cassettes 32 to the dispenser 14. In such examples, theholding cabinet 12 may include multiple doors 54 or may include a door54 of a sufficient size to enable dispense of buns 50 from multiplelocations of cassettes 32 within the compartment. In still furtherexamples, shuttles, arms, or other actuators as described US PatentApplication Publication Nos. 2019/0167040, 2019/0208964, and2019/0208793 may move a bun removed from the cassette 32 by the cabinetactuator 44 to the dispenser 14 or the toaster 16.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the cassettes 32 are exemplarily movable in avertical direction along rails 43. This may also provide for inventorymanagement as some cassettes 32 may be dedicated to specialty or lowervolume baked goods while other cassettes 32 may be dedicated to highvolume baked goods. The high volume baked goods can thus be used andreplenished more frequently while the holding cabinet maintains thequality of the specialty/lower volume baked goods awaiting use in anorder. The cassettes 32 may fit one across a width of the compartment30, while in other examples, two or more cassettes 32 may fit across thewidth of the compartment 30 and individual stacks of cassettes 32 may bemovable within the compartment 30. While FIG. 2 depicts a cassette 32that matches the width of the compartment 30, other examples may providetwo or more vertical columns or stacks of cassettes that are exemplarilyhalf-width or third-width, whereby each column of cassettes 32 holdsbuns 50 of a different type. Corresponding doors 34A may only extendacross the compartment 30 for a dimension sized to fit the cassette tobe received therein. This, for example, may provide storage, management,and dispensing of two or more different types of buns from a singleholding cabinet 12.

The cassettes 32 may be configured to receive a cabinet actuator,exemplarily a conveyor or a pusher that operates to engage a bun 50 orplurality of buns 50 within a cassette 32 at the dispense position toadvance a bun 50 out of the compartment 30. While not depicted in FIG.2, the holding cabinet 12 includes such cabinet actuators 44. Thesecabinet actuators 44 are exemplarily depicted and described later hereinwith respect to FIGS. 3A-3C.

In an exemplary and non-limiting description of operation of the holdingcabinet 12, cassettes 32 filled with buns 50 are loaded into the bottomof the holding cabinet 12 through door 34A. The holding cabinet 12creates and maintains a controlled environment within the compartment 30of the holding cabinet 12. As more buns are needed/used, the holdingcabinet 12 moves cassettes 32 upwards from a position at the door 34A toa position adjacent the dispensing position, for example relative to thegate 54 and/or the dispenser 14. This cycles a cassette filled with bunsto the dispensing position to replace an empty cassette or to replace acassette filled with buns determined to be held beyond a holding timelimit. Exit of the buns 50 from the holding cabinet 12 may be controlledby the gate 54 or with a cabinet actuator 44 that engages the buns. Asdescribed above, this may be pusher or a conveyor. Examples of aconveyor cabinet actuator 44 are described in further detail withrespect to FIGS. 3A-3C. Once the buns 50 from a cassette 32 have beendispensed, the holding cabinet 12 moves the empty cassette further upalong the rails 43 within the compartment 30 of the holding cabinet 12for storage and/or removal from a door 34B, which may be located at thetop of the holding cabinet 12 at a position above the dispense position.As previously described, a cassette 32 filled with buns 50 can then beloaded into the dispensing position within the holding cabinet 12. A newcassette 32 filled with buns 50 can be loaded into the compartment 30through the door 34A. It will also be recognized that this order ofloading and unloading may also be reversed. A person of ordinary skillin the art will recognize variations from this disclosed embodiment thatare within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3A-3C depict related examples of the interaction between acassette 32 and a cabinet actuator in the exemplary form of a conveyor60, for example as may occur within a compartment 30 of a holdingcabinet 12 as described above. As depicted in FIG. 3A, the conveyor 60and the cassette 32 are movable with relative to each other, within thecompartment 30. It will be recognized that while the cassette 32 isdepicted in FIG. 3A without a cover 82 or a front wall 90 as describedin further detail herein, that cassettes 32 may also include thosefeatures, while in FIG. 3A, removal of those features promotesvisibility of the inside of the cassette 32. Furthermore, while thecassette 32 in FIG. 3A is configured to receive a single row of bunstherein, it will be recognized through other examples provided hereinthat cassettes may be configured to receive other number of rows ofbuns.

The cassette 32, filled with buns 50 moved to the dispensing positionwithin the compartment 30 and the conveyor 60 is movable within a slot62 through a floor 64 of the cassette 32. In one example, one set ofconveyors may be arranged relative to the dispensing position and theconveyors 60 moved through the slot to engage buns 50 in the cassette 32at the dispensing position. The bun 50 rests on the floor 64 of thecassette 32, straddling the slot 62. Extending through the slot 62, theconveyor 60 engages the bun 50, lifting it from the floor 64 of thecassette 32. In an example, the bun 50 may remain in contact with thefloor 64, while in other examples, lifting the bun 50 with the conveyor60 off of the floor 64 helps to reduce friction between the floor 64 andthe bun 50 and helps to advance the bun 50 in the direction of arrow 66with movement of the conveyor 60. The slot 62 may extend all the way toan open end 68 of the cassette 32. This way, the conveyor 60 can extendthe length of the cassette 32 and/or beyond the length of the cassette32 to move buns 50 from the cassette 32 out of the compartment 30 to thedispenser 14.

It will be recognized that the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3A isschematic in nature and may used with more or fewer components as showntherein. Further examples of cassettes are provided herein and it isrecognized that features between those as shown in all of the figuresherein may be used in embodiments while remaining within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3B depicts an example of a portion of a compartment 30 of a holdingcabinet 12 with a cassette 32 and a plurality conveyors 60. The cassette32 is exemplarily configured to receive three rows of buns, and issimilar in shape and construction to those cassettes as depicted anddescribed in further detail with respect to FIGS. 4A-5C. FIG. 3C is aside view taken along line C-C of FIG. 3B. The cassette 32 rests uponshelves 98 which extend into the interior of the cabinet 30. Whenpositioned on the shelves 98, the cassette 32 is held over therespective conveyors 60, which are arranged to correspond to the slotsin the bottoms of the cassettes 32 (see FIGS. 3A and 5A-C). FIG. 3Bincludes a second set of shelves 98 and conveyors 60, but without acassette 32 loaded thereon. It can be seen from this second set ofshelves 98 and conveyors 60 that the conveyors 60 extend above a planeformed by the shelves 98.

As seen in FIG. 3C, when the cassette 32 is loaded into the cabinet andrests upon the shelves 98, the conveyors 60 extend through the slotsinto the cassette to engage the buns 50 stored therein. The conveyor 60extends out of a back end of the cassette 32. Advancement of theconveyor 60 moves a bun 50 out of the cassette 32 to be to be deliveredfrom the compartment 30 to the dispenser 14.

Currently, baked goods often are received from a bakery in bagged“pillow packs.” The pillow packs are constructed and treated such as tocreate an environment suitable for holding and preserving quality of thebaked goods therein. However, upon opening the pillow pack, the bakedgoods will quickly begin to degrade and become stale. Thus, in use, thepillow packs may be opened and the baked goods directly loaded into acassette 32 and moved to the controlled environment of the holdingcabinet 12. This limits the exposure of the baked goods to the ambientair and enables the holding cabinet 12 to promote baked good holding andquality. In exemplary embodiments, individual cassettes 32 may be sizedand/or dimensioned such as to receive the entirety of a “pillow pack” ofbaked goods such that the cassette 32 can accommodate all of the bakedgoods of the “pillow pack,” once it is opened. This limits thelikelihood that baked goods will be held outside of the controlledenvironments of the “pillow pack”, the cassette 32, the holding cabinet12. In other embodiments, cassettes 32 or portions of cassettes 32 maybe configured to accommodate a regular portion of a pillow pack of bakedgoods, for example half of a pillow pack. In this manner, two cassettes32 can be filled with the contents of an opened pillow pack.

The cassette 32 as described herein may also be used for the thawing andhandling of buns removed from the pillow packs but prior to cassettesbeing received within the holding cabinet 12. As previously noted, tomaintain the quality of buns during transport from a bakery to therestaurant, the buns may be frozen. In other settings, the buns may beshipped in uninsulated environments which may expose them to freezingtemperatures. In either event, the buns may have to be thawed when theyare received at the restaurant. In the embodiments, it may beadvantageous for the buns to thaw outside of the enclosed environment ofthe pillow pack; however, it is still desirable to limit the exposure ofthe buns to the open air. As described herein, embodiments of thecassettes 32 may be used in the thawing process to limit the amount ofair surrounding the buns which will extend their shelf life whencompared to leaving buns in the open air. In the embodiments describedherein, each cassette 32 may be configured to nest with a cassette 32positioned above or below it during a bun transfer out of the pillowpack operation in order to minimize the air circulation around the buns.The cassette 32 can be placed into a thaw rack 70 as will be describedin further detail herein which operates to close the cassette 32,minimizing air exposure. The thaw rack 70 may be held in the ambientenvironment of the kitchen, or may be placed in a refrigerating or awarming device to further control the temperature and environment withinwhich the bun within the cassettes 32 may thaw and be held prior tobeing placed in the holding cabinet 12.

Like reference numerals are used herein to denote similar componentsbetween examples while focusing the disclosure on features shown in eachexample. A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize from thepresent disclosure that components between the various examples may becombined and recombined with more or fewer components to arrive at stillfurther examples within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict an example of a thawing rack 70. The thawing rack70 in FIG. 4A depicts the thawing rack 70 in an empty condition whileFIG. 4B depicts the thawing rack filled with a plurality of cassettes32. The cassettes 32 are exemplarily in the configuration as shown anddescribed with respect to FIGS. 5A-5C. As noted above, it is desirableto provide the buns with an environment for holding and/or thawing afterthe buns have been removed from the pillow packs, but prior to the bunsbeing placed in the bun dispenser 12 described above. The thawing rack70 facilitates this holding process which may be done in an ambientenvironment of the kitchen or may be done in a cooler, warmer, or othercontrolled environment.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the thawing rack 70 includes a plurality ofshelves 72. In embodiments, the shelves 72 are vertically spaced apartat an exemplary dimension configured to receive two cassettes 32 in thevertical dimension between adjacent shelves 72. However, it will berecognized that in other embodiments a greater or a lesser space betweenadjacent shelves 72 may be provided. The shelves 72 are secured to aframe 74 that exemplarily include vertical components and horizontalcomponents which may be secured by a rivet or a welding or another formof fastening as will be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in theart. The frame 74 may further include wheels 76 which enable the thawingrack 70 to be moved within a kitchen and for example into a controlledenvironment area or to be moved into a position adjacent to the bunholding cabinet 12 for loading of the bun holding cabinet 12 withcassettes 32 filled with buns.

The shelves 72 are further dimensioned such as to receive two cassettes32 horizontally adjacent to one another across the width of a shelf 72.However, it will be recognized that dimensioning of the cassettes 32and/or the shelves 72 may be made such as to accommodate more or fewerthan two cassettes 32 across a width of a shelf 72. The widths of theshelf 72 may further be defined by lips 78 extending from the shelves 72and secured to the frame 74. The shelves 72 further include back walls80 that extend across the width of the shelves 72 at the rear of theshelves 72 and are secured to the frame 74.

As depicted in FIG. 4B, a plurality of cassettes 32, filled with buns,are loaded into the thawing rack 70 to hold the buns within thecassettes 32 until the buns can be loaded into the bun holding cabinet.In exemplary embodiments, the cassettes 32 may be color coded or includesome further type of identification such as to identify the type of buncontained within different cassettes 32. In an example, different colorsof cassettes 32 may be used to distinguish between regular buns or clubbuns while still other colors may identify wheat buns, brioche buns,ciabatta buns, hoagie rolls, or other types of baked goods as may beused within the systems of the present disclosure.

As discussed above and will be discussed in further detail, thecassettes 32 are exemplarily partially open with slots 62 in the floors64 and open end 68 to the rear of the cassette 32. In the embodiment ofthe thawing rack 70, the shelf 72 and the end plate 80 are configuredand dimensioned such as to engage with the cassette 32 to close offthese openings of the cassette 32 in a manner such as to provide thelimitation of circulation of the air surrounding the buns held withinthe cassettes 32 with air external to the cassettes 32 as well as tolimit the circulation of the air within the cassettes 32. By blockingthe slot 62 and the open end 68 of the cassettes 32 respectively withthe shelf 72 and the back wall 80, an environment about the buns withinthe cassettes 32 is provided with a limited exposure to the ambient air.

FIG. 4B further depicts two configurations or manners in which the slots62 may be blocked or partially blocked to limit exposure to ambient air.The slots 62 may be blocked by the cassette 32 resting on a shelf whichextends across the slot 62. The covers 82 of the cassettes 32 mayinclude ridges 96, which are described in further detail with respect toFIGS. 5A-5C. The cassettes 32 may further be stacked on top of eachother, with the ridges 96 of a lower cassette 32 nesting within the slot62 of the upper cassette 32.

FIGS. 5A-5C provide a more detailed depiction of an exemplary embodimentof cassette 32. FIG. 5A is a top rear perspective view of the cassette32. FIG. 5B is a top front perspective view of the cassette 32 with thecover 82 in an open or partially open configuration. FIG. 5C is a bottomrear perspective view of the cassette 32 in a closed configuration. Aspreviously described, the cassette 32 is configured to hold a pluralityof buns 50 therein. While the cassette 32 depicted in FIGS. 5A-5Cexemplarily provides the buns 50 in three lanes 84, it will berecognized that other embodiments of cassettes 32 may have more or fewerthan three lanes 84. The lanes 84 are exemplarily defined in a cassettebody 86 with a side wall 88, a front wall 90, and intermediate walls 92.The cassette 32 is open towards the rear face of the cassette 32opposite the front wall 90. The cover 82 is hingedly connected to thebody 86, for example, at a pivot point 94. The cover 82 rotates aboutthe pivot point 94 between a closed position as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5Cand an open position exemplarily as shown in FIG. 5B. The opening ofcover 82 facilitates the filling of the cassette 32 with buns 50 from apillow pack.

As best shown in FIG. 5A, the cover 82 further includes ridges 96. Theridges 96 are exemplarily dimensioned and otherwise configured to bereceived within the slot 62 of an adjacently above cassette 32. Theridges 96 thereby close the slot 62 of the adjacently above cassette 32when stacked thereon as for example shown in FIG. 4B. This facilitatesclosure of the environment about the buns 50 within the cassettelimiting and/or minimizing air exchange and circulation therein. Theridges 96 may exemplarily include ribbon or textural features or amaterial, for example, an elastomeric material to further facilitate theengagement and closure of the ridges 96 within the slots 62.

As described above, exemplary processes for handling baked goods includea number of actions performed by and with components of the baked goodshandling system 10, including, but not limited to the bun holdingcabinet 12. These actions may be performed by individual initiation ateach of the components, for example, upon user inputs or actuations ateach of the components as described herein, or may be performedautomatedly based upon instructions provided by the KMS through the IOTsystem as described above. In still further embodiments, the componentsof the baked goods handling system may communicate directly with oneanother for example by wired or wireless communication. In a stillfurther embodiment, the baked goods handling system 10 may be integratedinto a single apparatus that provides holding, dispensing and toastingfunctions.

Citations to a number of references are made herein. The citedreferences are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Inthe event that there is an inconsistency between a definition of a termin the specification as compared to a definition of the term in a citedreference, the term should be interpreted based on the definition in thespecification.

In the above description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clarity, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beinferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued. The different systems and method steps described herein maybe used alone or in combination with other systems and methods. It is tobe expected that various equivalents, alternatives and modifications arepossible within the scope of the appended claims.

The functional block diagrams, operational sequences, and flow diagramsprovided in the Figures are representative of exemplary architectures,environments, and methodologies for performing novel aspects of thedisclosure. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, themethodologies included herein may be in the form of a functionaldiagram, operational sequence, or flow diagram, and may be described asa series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that themethodologies are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, inaccordance therewith, occur in a different order and/or concurrentlywith other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, thoseskilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology canalternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states orevents, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all acts illustratedin a methodology may be required for a novel implementation.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the inventionis defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur tothose skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be withinthe scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do notdiffer from the literal language of the claims, or if they includeequivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from theliteral languages of the claims.

We claim:
 1. A bun handling system, comprising: a cassette comprisingopposed side walls, a front wall, an open rear face opposite the frontwall, and a floor between the opposed side walls; wherein a coverextends between the opposed side walls above the floor, wherein thecover is movable relative to the opposed side walls and the floor; andwherein a slot is defined through the floor from the open rear face in adirection towards the front wall.
 2. The bun handling system of claim 1,wherein the floor of the cassette further extends interior from thefront wall, separating the slot from the front wall.
 3. The bun handlingsystem of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of lanes definedwithin the cassette between the opposed side walls, each of the lanes ofthe plurality separated from an adjacent lane of the plurality by anintermediate wall.
 4. The bun handling system of claim 3, wherein thecassette comprises a plurality of slots, the plurality of slotsincluding the slot, and each slot of the plurality of slots extendsthrough the floor from the open rear face in a direction towards thefront wall, each lane of the plurality of lanes having a slot of theplurality of slots.
 5. The bun handling system of claim 4, wherein thecover further comprises a plurality of ridges extending outwards fromthe cover, and each ridge of the plurality of ridges is verticallyaligned with a slot of the plurality of slots.
 6. The bun handlingsystem of claim 5, wherein the cassette is a first cassette and furthercomprising a second cassette, wherein a plurality of ridges extendingfrom a cover of the second cassette are dimensioned to nest withincorresponding slots of the plurality of slots of the first cassette whenthe first cassette is stacked upon the second cassette.
 7. The bunhandling system of claim 1, further comprising a bun holding cabinetdefining a compartment, the compartment of the bun holding cabinetconfigured to removably receive the cassette.
 8. The bun handling systemof claim 7, wherein the bun handling system is configured to dispense abun from a dispense point of the bun handling system to a toasteradjacent to the compartment.
 9. The bun handling system of claim 8,wherein the cassette is movable within the compartment to orient thecassette relative to the dispense point.
 10. The bun handling system ofclaim 9, further comprising a first door into the compartment andconfigured to receive the cassette filled with a plurality of bunstherethrough and comprising a second door into the compartment andconfigured for removal of the cassette after the buns are dispensed. 11.The bun handling system of claim 7, further comprising a conveyorarranged within the compartment, the conveyor receivable within the slotto extend through the slot to engage a bun within the cassette.
 12. Thebun handling system of claim 7, further comprising: wherein the cassettecomprises a plurality of lanes separated from an adjacent lane of theplurality of lanes by an intermediate wall, and a plurality of slotsincluding the slot, each slot of the plurality of slots extends throughthe floor from the open rear face in a direction towards the front wall,each lane of the plurality of lanes having a slot of the plurality ofslots; a plurality of conveyors arranged within the compartment, each ofthe conveyors of the plurality of conveyors configured to be receivablewithin a slot of the plurality of slots; wherein the plurality ofconveyors extend through the plurality of slots to engage buns in eachlane of the cassette.
 13. The bun handling system of claim 12, whereinwhen the plurality of conveyors are received within the plurality ofslots, the plurality of conveyors extend out of the open rear face ofthe cassette and are operable to move buns from each lane of thecassette out of the open rear face of the cassette.
 14. The bun handlingsystem of claim 12, wherein the compartment further comprises at leastone shelf extending interior the compartment, wherein when the cassetterests on the at least one shelf, the plurality of conveyors arepositioned within the plurality of slots.
 15. The bun handling system ofclaim 7, further comprising a thawing rack with a plurality of shelves,each shelf of the thawing rack configured to receive the cassette, thethawing rack further comprising a plurality of back walls each orientedrelative to one of the shelves of the plurality of shelves; wherein whenthe cassette is received on a shelf of the plurality of shelves, theshelf covers the slot and the back wall covers the open rear face. 16.The bun handling system of claim 15, wherein the shelves of theplurality of shelves are spaced apart at a distance to accommodate atleast two cassettes in a vertical stack.
 17. The bun handling system ofclaim 16, wherein the cassette is a first cassette and furthercomprising a second cassette, wherein a plurality of ridges extendingfrom a cover of the second cassette are dimensioned to nest withincorresponding slots of the plurality of slots of the first cassette whenthe first cassette is stacked upon the second cassette.
 18. A bunhandling system, comprising: a plurality of cassettes, each cassette ofthe plurality comprising: opposed side walls, a front wall, an open rearface opposite the front wall, and a floor between the opposed sidewalls; wherein a plurality of lanes are defined within the cassettebetween the opposed side walls, each of the lanes separated from anadjacent lane of the plurality of lanes by an intermediate wall, and aplurality of slots extend through the floor from the open rear face ofthe cassette in a direction towards the front wall and each lane of theplurality of lanes includes a slot of the plurality of slots; and acover extends between the opposed side walls above the floor, whereinthe cover is movable relative to the opposed side walls and the floor,the cover comprising a plurality of ridges extending outward from thecover and each ridge of the plurality of ridges is vertically alignedwith a slot of the plurality of slots; and a bun holding cabinetdefining a compartment, the compartment of the bun holding cabinetconfigured to removably receive each cassette of the plurality ofcassettes, the bun holding cabinet comprising: a plurality of conveyorsarranged within the compartment, each of the conveyors of the pluralityof conveyors configured to be receivable within a slot of the pluralityof slots; wherein the plurality of conveyors extend through theplurality of slots to engage buns in each lane of the cassette, whereinthe plurality of conveyors extend out of the open rear face of thecassette and are operable to move buns from each lane of the cassetteout of the open rear face of the cassette.
 19. The bun handling systemof claim 19, further comprising a thawing rack with a plurality ofshelves, each shelf of the thawing rack configured to receive at leastone cassette of the plurality of cassettes, the thawing rack furthercomprising a plurality of back walls each oriented relative to one ofthe shelves of the plurality of shelves; wherein when the cassette isreceived on a shelf of the plurality of shelves, the shelf covers theslot and the back wall covers the open rear face.
 20. A method ofdispensing buns from the bun handling system of claim 18, the methodcomprising: receiving a plurality of buns in each lane of each of theplurality of cassettes; receiving the plurality of cassettes within thecompartment of the bun holding cabinet; positioning the plurality ofconveyors through the slots of a cassette of the plurality of cassettesto engage the plurality of buns within the cassette with the conveyors;and advancing at least one conveyor of the plurality of conveyors tomove a bun out of the cassette to a dispense point of the bun holdingcabinet.